Summer Road Trip Series with Chuck D’Imperio

One of the most fun chapters in my new book A Taste of upstate New York concerned the Upstate food festivals. Boy, we have a lot of them and I gave as many as I could their very own chapter. Take tiny Phelps, NY for example. They used to be known as “The Cauliflower Capital of America” for all the sauerkraut they produced in the many big manufacturing plants in their area. They are long gone now, but Phelps still celebrates with an annual “Sauerkraut Festival” that is charming and fun. They even crown a King Kraut and a Kween Kraut. And don’t forget the annual Bagel Festival in Monticello. Do you know that the NYS legislature declared Monticello as the official state “Bagel Capital?” One of the great events at this festival is trying to create the world’s largest bagel chain. They string a rope up all along Main Street, get hundreds of volunteers together and then thread real bagels along it to try and hit the record. These are just two of the wonderful food festivals in my new book from Syracuse University Press.